Transatlantic flight

A flight that crosses the Atlantic Ocean by aircraft. Its early twentieth-century pioneers demonstrated that aircraft could connect Europe and North America across open water.

Alcock and Brown: British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown completed the first nonstop transatlantic flight in June 1919. Their 1919 flight from Newfoundland to Ireland was the first nonstop crossing.
Great-circle distance: The shortest surface distance between two points on a sphere, measured along a great circle. It helps determine the shortest route across the curved Atlantic.
Transatlantic air service: Scheduled commercial passenger or cargo flights linking destinations on opposite sides of the Atlantic. It is the routine commercial form of transatlantic flight.
Commercial aviation: The operation of aircraft to transport passengers or cargo for payment. Regular Atlantic crossings helped establish long-haul aviation as a major industry.
Charles Lindbergh: American aviator Charles Lindbergh made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic in 1927. His New York–Paris flight made transatlantic aviation famous worldwide.
Aircraft range: The maximum distance an aircraft can fly under specified conditions before exhausting its usable fuel. Range determines whether a crossing is feasible without refueling.
Pan Am: Pan American World Airways was a major U.S. international airline that pioneered long-distance routes and flying-boat service. Its 1939 transatlantic passenger service helped establish regular ocean air travel.
Aviation safety: The practices, technologies, and regulations used to reduce risks in aircraft operation. Oceanic flights drove advances in navigation, communication, weather planning, and diversion procedures.
Amelia Earhart: American aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1932. Her solo crossing established a major milestone for women in aviation.
Dead reckoning: A navigation method that estimates position from a known starting point, speed, time, and direction. Early ocean-crossing pilots relied on it when landmarks were absent.

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